Digimon Keepers
by Ajarel
Summary: In a world that hides from humanity, a calamity unseen since the dawn of its creation arises, leaving its inhabitants to wonder, "just how long can it stay hidden?". And an uncertain boy, wondering about his past, will become the only hope it has of stopping the greatest threat ever known to the Human and Digital worlds alike. (Chronological retconning ahead)
1. Prologue: The Color of Loneliness

**To those of you who bother to take the time to read the author's notes, this one is important.**

I'm an honest soul, so I will be upfront with my time constraints. I do not plan on being very predictable with my release dates, as I tend to write as the urge hits me, which can be good or bad compared to other writers who procrastinate. That being said, I'm intent on seeing this fanfic through to the end.

Now, for those of you interesting in moving forward and giving this fic a chance, let me give a brief synopsis. This fic centers around the journeys of a cowardly, socially awkward boy who gets entangled in a plot to destroy the digital world. And yes, this is a Digimon fanfic. As a precursing note, I will be attempting to link each of the separate timelines into an epic conclusion, disregarding the Digimon games and in some cases altering the basic timeframes of the different seasons. Without further ado, enjoy!

 **DISCLAIMER: Digimon is owned by Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation, WIZ, and Bandai. Please support the official release(s).**

* * *

There is a cosmic brilliance, dwindling amidst the chromatic clouds and shuddering stars only beginning to breath. Sometimes we wonder what that brilliance means to us scientifically, but only because we want to know everything.

In the grand scheme of things, sometimes, we need to recognize that our understanding means nothing more than a fleeting glimpse of knowledge. Whether we know everything or not, we are still insignificant sparks...

...or are we?

In so far as knowledge is concerned, humans are so needy, and jealous. Why can't they ever slow down, admire things for the way they are, and work with the barest of facts to form an enriched lifestyle? As I observed them, I noticed that humans are creatures seeking happiness, an endearment at their very core disregarding anything they say. Sure, they sometimes work out an impressive number of distracting doctrines and mask their desires with beliefs, but only a few of them can ever truly live up to such vocations. Those are the persons I would call rare, unique, and entirely insane.

But humans have a... strange ability, to suppress themselves.

At first it wasn't obvious, but eventually I began to see a cycle in their daily lives, which permeated those doctrines without exception. It started out as a division of status, then it became a social cruelty, until it eventually began an invisible paradigm, ruling and dictating everything around it. Humans sometimes caught sight of it, and they would call it... expectation.

The human eye makes distinctions between what it sees, and what it wants to see. It does this all the time, unless disciplined, which is why it is so hard to make out. It happened so naturally, that it has been somewhat pardoned of scrutiny.

Then I realized that expectation and knowledge are part of the same crisis.

That humanity seeks happiness, yet it expects anything but.

What a strange, and cruel paradox.

Most of them have no idea, that what they are seeking does not match what they are doing at all. They suppress those things about themselves and others that truly make them a beautiful social species, capable of many great achievements, because their lust for justice drives them to ignore the simpler things. To meet the end they call 'happiness', they force themselves to suffer, hoping that a time will come when their efforts will finally have payed off. This is a self-inflicted slavery, nothing more or less, that they insist on justifying because of the 'progress' they are convinced is permeating that punishment. In a way, unfortunately, they are correct.

And yet... if they were to stop slaving in this way, all at once, humanity would be destroyed. Freedom of the mind causes provisional progress to suffer; in some sense the abolition of one cruelty for the admission of a greater one. That is primarily evident by how far the system has come, and even if it hadn't, it would eventually. The sorrowful truth is that mankind likens provisional progress to their own happiness, and cannot see it any other way, despite the fact that it ceases to be provisional the moment their needs have been provided. Instead it becomes a safeguard for their future, and the excess of that safeguard is turned about and vented onto a temporary 'happiness', only for them to discover that their safeguards are meaningless as the 'progress' they made has caught up to them, revealing new necessities which require new provisional standards and safeguards, all of it ultimately perpetuating the cycle. And like any spoiled child, once those provisions, safeguard or not, have been taken away, they will fight tooth and nail to get it back. This is how mankind divides itself, therefore I wouldn't waste time wanting it.

So, rather than wish for something cruel to end, I am content to watch them, the masters of Earth, and observing those people whom I consider rare. A few of them sprout up here and there, some horrible beyond compare, others benevolent saints. They brought change to the world, each and every one of them.

They have become... interesting to me.

In the past I have often found myself agreeing with human morality. I cannot place the origin of my own consciousness, and therefore I have no say in the content of my soul or heart if they exist, but to me these creatures are without doubt the greatest of species to be found, despite their shortcomings. The same ability that allows them to regress, is also their tool to evolve. An evolving race in mentality and morality, though somewhat lacking physically. That cannot really be helped though.

My hours are spent seeing everything there is to see, unable to interact with it, and above all, protect it. Although, it is a passive protection. My existence is like an impervious blanket, and so I am unable to act in any way for myself, but I can still see. I can watch.

Today, as I dwell in my secret place, I watch a particular boy.

His name... is Toshiro.

* * *

 **Prologue: The Color of Loneliness**

* * *

"BZZZZZZZ...BZZZZZZZ!"

Toshiro, shocked by the sudden burst of sound into the quiet morning air, jolted upright, wide awake insofar as his hatred of the device drove him. Groggily he reached over with one arm, and pressed down upon a certain button fitted to the contraption. The noise abruptly ceased, and a tranquil but heavy silence replaced it. He yawned widely, before throwing off the comforting blanket that held him there, and didn't want to let go, resulting in multiple attempts.

Dreary as teenagers are in the morning, and most likely would be for another hour, Toshiro looked over to the alarm clock, confirming to himself that the time did in fact read 7:30 and it wasn't a cruel joke or malfunction.

He yawned once more.

Feeling that he had overstayed his welcome and that he would make his guardians unhappy if he tried to oversleep, Toshiro urged the effort into his legs in order to slide them over the ridge of his single bed, and plant them gingery upon the oaken floor. As the rest of his body followed, Toshiro noticed a strange flickering feeling in his stomach, not unlike a nervous jolt, but far less friendly. He sat down briefly, grimacing as the jolt coursed throughout his body before subsiding after about a minute. His breathing was heavy, eyes winced, as he stood back up.

"For the love of... not again."

Groaning, Toshiro walked to the center of his rather spacious room, and selected a book from a black shelf next to his closet.

The room was originally intended for guests, and ever since he took up residence in the house thirteen years ago, he'd kept that intention in mind, despite the fact that none of the other residents had ever considered him anything less than family. At least, not to his knowledge. Regardless, he wanted the best for his surrogates, and so he sought to please them even in this mundane fashion. Everything was tidy and neat, arranged symmetrically as it were, and even his closet was well ordered to this effect. The books on this particular shelf were arranged alphabetically, all except for one. This one book, a brown leather-bound journal, that he used for his... personal, problems. Wielding a pen from his nearby desk, he sat down to write his latest entry, speaking aloud the words he transcribed them.

Dear Diary:

October 1st_ Another nervous attack today. I still

don't know why they keep happening... it's starting

to frighten me. What if the effects never wear

off? Is it just going to keep getting worse?

I can't tell my family. I know I should,

but I can't. My mouth doesn't open when I

try to talk... my heart starts pounding.

Maybe I will get better soon; Mrs Tengi says

that all illnesses are cured eventually. I'm not a

doctor, so I have to trust her.

Shrugging off the lingering effects from the attack, Toshiro put down his pen, and closed the journal. He lay back into his chair, staring into infinity, as he wondered a frequent question of late.

How should he go about fixing this problem?

He knew it wasn't normal. All of his internet searches had come up with inconclusive results that didn't make any sense to him, nor did they really apply to his condition. Library books weren't much better.

"Toshiro-kun? Breakfast is ready!"

The frown on his face turned to a slight smile. One thing he appreciated from his surrogates was their enduring love for him, despite how odd he must seem to them. A frail, quiet, and wimpish boy with no hobbies or dreams. Finally resolving to move on from his thoughts, Toshiro changed into his school uniform, and made his way downstairs at a good pace.

Sitting at table there, in the brightness of the morning light filtered by a stain-glass window, were three people. A girl, about his age, and a delightful couple who stared at him with beaming smiles. Shy as he was, Toshiro could only look at the floor and blush slightly as they addressed him. First was the father.

"Rise and shine Toshiro, a little later than usual too. Probably a good thing, considering."

His wife immediately slapped him, although gently, upon his shoulder.

"That's enough Ken. Hurry up Shiro, before Eve takes all of the eggs."

As if in defiance of their suggestion, the younger girl hugged the platter of sunny-side-up eggs closer to her own plate, her mouth full and eyes glaring at him in mock refusal, daring him to take them away. Laughing humorously at her antics, her mother coaxed the eggs out of her grasp.

The blush disappeared from his cheeks, and he removed a stray lock from his eyes as he reached the table, and seated himself on a more unoccupied corner of the round table.

As breakfast progressed, with Toshiro maintaining his quiet demeanor, a much taller girl walked through the kitchen where they ate, practically strutting with a confident rhythm. A backpack was strapped to her shoulders, and it somehow parted an otherwise perfect stream of blond hair. Her hands quickly reached for the front door, which was situated in the center of the room adjacent to the kitchen with no division between them. Before the handle could be reached however, her attention was directed to the hasty inquiry of her father.

"Aren't you going to enjoy breakfast before you head out today, Yui?"

The identified daughter turned a quick glance at the man who had just taken his head out of the newspaper, and delivered an exasperated response. "I told you last night dad, I'm needed at the college early today. Besides, I already ate before you sat down."

"Of course sweetheart. Have fun at school, and drive safe."

"Bye Yui!"

Yui smiled at her younger sister, then gave Toshiro a good long glance. As she had expected his expression was downcast, but still he had offered to watch her leave. If nothing else it was progress. "Stay strong, Toshiro. Cya!"

With those words, she quickly opened the glass door, slipped through it, and shut it behind her. While the family resumed their breakfast, which at this time was nearing its end, Toshiro turned his eyes back

to the table and away from the door whence his surrogate sister had departed. Some things never changed. Even if he wanted them to. The voices around the table were drowned out by his own thoughts, once again stuck in his own world. Mild Autism, ADD, and a few phobias... these were all things he had to deal with.

It was eating him from the inside out, never being able to express himself.

The journal he kept was the only true way he could put his thoughts to action. More than the encouraging words of his guardians, or the amicable attempts made by Yui and Eve both, more than the doctors and specialists and even more than action itself. Nothing else worked for him.

Dear Diary:

October 1st (Continued)_Today I learned something;

that I will never be able to truly make friends.

...

Not for the first time, as Toshiro walked silently from the family car that had dropped him off at school, the boy felt the loneliness of life weighing upon his shoulders. He couldn't hope to remember his real parents, who had left him alone almost fourteen years ago, and for as long as he could remember he had been different. A misfit. A black sheep.

The curb soon became a long sidewalk, and to each side children bounded into view of his downcast eyes, tossing one ball or another, playing tag or shouting excitedly. To his left was the public parking lot across the street, to his right was the main school entrance, leading upward and downward to different levels via stairwells, accessed by wide glass doors. The building was mainly brickwork with some homely flares of decoration, but it was deceptively small on the outside. Further in he knew the gyms would explode in size, and even the classrooms were homely... but nothing so thrilling that he could ever feel excited to attend. He re-adjusted his lightly packed school bag, dull grey in color, and headed for the entrance, never even noticing those few among the children who bothered to look his way.

...

School, the necessary cruelty. These days it meant nothing more than a nuisance, where his autistic and cowardly nature became all too apparent, despite how feverishly he desired to keep his faults hidden and locked away.

And yet, sitting at his desk in the rather monochromatic and rectangular room of his first class, Toshiro couldn't find reasons to complain. Complaining was something he didn't do very often, but when he did, it was mostly non-verbal, especially when in public. That being said, he did take issue with the ceaseless noise happening around him, like a hive full of hornets with nothing better to do. He covered his ears with both hands, his chin practically touching the desk, while he waited patiently for class to begin.

"Why is it so loud..." He asked himself, under his breath. The atmosphere in the classroom about him was electric, brimming with excitement for some scientific speaker making an appearance that day.

"You mean you don't know?"

Toshiro nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned his head sharply to the right, looking at the pristine face of a newly integrated highborn girl with well groomed blond hair and a short pigtail. Of course he knew exactly what the occasion was, but being young and socially awkward, he had no words to speak. Therefor, she took it into her own hands to explain the situation. "I heard there's a speaker coming in today named Takeo Hishimoto, he's going to be talking about the discoveries made on the Digital Catastrophe last year. Isn't that exciting?"

"Not really..." Toshiro spoke it quietly, imagining that it wouldn't be heard, but naturally the girl picked it out and immediately became appalled.

"What? How could you say that?"

"Hey Erena, what are you complaining about?"

Toshiro could feel an even larger headache forming when a familiar redhead girl strolled over to their desks. Her name was Ageta Sazo as he recalled, but it wasn't a name he favored. At her side was her brother Gin, who over the years as a shadow to his sister had formed an idol of her. Responding to the new arrival, Erena calmed herself and made her reply.

"I'm just surprised is all, that he didn't know or care about the presentation today."

Much to Erena's surprise, this came as a shock to Ageta and Gin. Both turned to look at the downcast expression on Toshiro's face, laid close to the desk, and Ageta commented quite crudely on the matter.

"Wow, I've been at this school for almost 3 years, and only three times have I ever heard him say anything like that. Congratulations Erena, you made the class reject do something unexpected. Take my advice though, he isn't worth your time. He's basically everyones scapegoat and isn't good for anything else. C'mon Gin, class will be starting soon."

The duo strolled back to their seats, and fell about whispering an odd rumor or two betwixt friends. Meanwhile, Erena sat stunned, peering aghast at Toshiro, who looked to all the world as though he couldn't care less.

But that wasn't the case. Not by a long shot. Still, he couldn't complain about it. Not at all. The things said about him, be they true or untrue, were not really up to him, and he was fine with that. He felt nothing ill towards the persons who denounced him, because in the moments when he considered how he saw himself, what they said usually matched his own perception.

…

Classes did as they always did; they came and they went. When at last the awaited moment arrived, when the proclaimed expert on digital extremities was to arise and deliver his speech, Toshiro knew what he would be doing and where. He would sit at the back of the auditorium rows, he would sink into his own world, and he would drown everything else out. This was his usual routine, broken only when something was required of him.

The auditorium was spacious indeed but not tall, leaving a wide breath for seats but no sound dynamic. It was for this reason that several speakers were installed throughout the room. One hung directly above him he knew, but it didn't bother him every once in a while to pay attention, in the hopes that something his mind could properly analyze would surface.

In the setbacks presented by his conditions, one of the many manifestations of frustration came in the form of emotion. He could never truly understand them, because to him they made themselves known not as a feeling but as a face, as a bodily response. Happiness, the thing that makes people smile. Sadness, the anomaly that takes a smile away, and causes the eye to deepen.

He could tell... sitting there, watching his classmates interacting, that happiness was present amongst them.

Their eyes were alight with laughter.

He reached out with his hand, a ghostly breath tickling his throat, as he desperately tried to take hold of that happiness for himself. But he felt nothing. Clenching his hand, he withdrew within himself, and sat back while the auditorium slowly grew silent.

All was silent, for him, right at this moment.

He looked to his hand again, hoping to see some sparkle of light that he'd imagined happiness to represent, perhaps even the slightest shade to make him feel included with the archetype known as the human being.

Voices, around him, rose and fell.

Faintly he could make out the rough pretentious inklings of words, lingering out of his reach, and he longed, desired, yearned, to hear them. Not just to hear them, to understand them. So, he leaned forward, peering out with his distant expression to lay his eyes upon a smartly dressed gentleman at the podium, his pointer carefully aimed at an angle toward the images provided by a projector.

He saw the screen, and all at once, his mind became clear.

At last! Something had drawn his attention!

It had been months since he'd felt this way... this was, excitement! Happiness of a different name, but happiness all the same. Giddy inside, he smiled. Boy, did he smile! Because there on the screen was the prospect of more than a few dreams in recent memory. The figure of a dragon, wrapping its coiled body around the planet, with the words 'Calamity' written under it. His ears could suddenly hear everything. It all made sense.

"...and of course, most if not all of you are aware of the situation regarding the phenomenon currently described as the 'Calamity Cipher', but for those of you who might be out of the loop, allow me a brief moment to explain."

Here the speaker placed a Wireless Stencil upon a tablet on the podium, and began to illustrate a few objects on a white panel that replaced the former caricature. The first objects he drew were a computer, and a depiction Toshiro could only assume represented a bookshelf.

"Now, when we think of the electronic world, what's the first thing that pops into your head? Any volunteers?"

A hand raised, followed by a response that Toshiro couldn't make out. The speaker smiled, nodded, and returned to the mic, whilst illustrating each point he made with helpful artwork.

"The Internet! Of course, right? The internet is used every day by over 80% of the world, estimated at about 5 billion people. This is because the internet is the ultimate form of globalization, connecting people to each other across immense distances. Satellites create electronic roads that connect data libraries, and programs are librarians that structure and rearrange those libraries to seem cohesive, even pulling out certain pieces of information when needed.

Unfortunately, much like pre-adolescent pranksters, viruses may sometimes come and corrupt the libraries, making the cohesive structures collapse or behave erratically, and sometimes even altering the very books on the shelf of a digital library. In the past, viruses have been known to purge data completely, and this is an increasingly prominent issue as the world of computers expands, despite all the effort we put into countermeasures."

The speaker erased the board, and moved on to create some strange symbols that Toshiro identified as the viruses.

"Fast forward to modern day Japan, six months ago on the 15th of March. An aspiring intern at the Hayaburi Institute noticed a glitch in their systems, which was very subtle but entirely random. In normal cases a virus is formed by a violent bit of corrupted code, sometimes intentionally by hackers, but viruses will always need to break down or bypass firewalls in order to cause any damage. This is why it startled the world when the intern discovered that, not only was there a powerful virus destroying data in an unpredictable fashion, but it had reached their libraries without ever coming into contact with their firewalls. By that I mean they never even crossed the library thresholds. They simply… teleported, for lack of a better word, into the isles of our libraries, and began wrecking havoc."

The groups of children began muttering, causing the teachers to attempt a restoration of balance. Toshiro himself began to ponder this information, despite the fact that he'd never really dealt with or been interested in basic digital principles in the first place. Something about this phenomenon intrigued him, genetically even. He couldn't help how curious he was.

"Ahem. This brings about a startling realization: that there is a virus occurring here that cannot be stopped by the best digital defenses known to man, and destroys all forms of data it encounters, without spreading too contagiously, thank God. Unfortunately, but also most interestingly, this is not the first time the virus has struck. Thanks to this discovery, inquiries were made into old archives and the archives of other companies, all of them discovering one frightening result: that this virus was attacking everywhere and nowhere at the same time, as if at random. Furthermore, thanks to deep searches, it was discovered that similar albeit smaller purges went under the radar 10 and 20 years before hand, once again striking randomly and without warning.

As of right now, we have no idea what the cause is or how to stop it, but preliminary speculation suggests that the virus is no large threat to society as of yet. Still, its destructive nature has earned it the title; 'Calamity Cipher', with regards to the fear of a worst case scenario. Ah, yes, you have a question?"

Toshiro didn't know what he was doing, raising his hand like that. He hastily pulled it down, his heart racing. He had no idea what to say! Quickly the weight of a thousand imagined eyes turning to him, overbearing him while he stuttered. Toshiro shut his eyes, awaiting the taunts or laughs...

Instead, he heard a girl speaking.

"Well, Hishimoto-san, I was wondering... is there any threat to civilians?"

Toshiro felt his heart cave a little, as a wave of relief shuddered his body. Maybe his hand was ignored, and hers just happened to be up at the same time? What a lucky break! Takeo nodded at her question.

"A threat to civilians you say? Well, the virus mostly attacks large data vaults, so the larger the library the more danger it's in you could say. Whether or not you ascribe to one of those libraries is anyone's guess, but thankfully Data Mass Backing is being fully implemented to counter the Cipher, so your personal information should be relatively secure. Any more questions?"

Sitting there by himself, Toshiro had to wonder if anyone felt as he did, because in the span of the ten minutes it took to explain the Calamity Cipher... he felt sick to the stomach. Was the presentation to blame for that feeling? He could only guess. Questions rolled by, none of them giving him cause to worry or think, but one thing the speaker said near to the end of his presentation stuck with him, and would remain stuck for a long while.

"This concludes my presentation on the Digital Catastrophe. As a final note, I would ask everyone here to consider this final question, that I ask every assembly I visit."

His gaze swept over the anxious students, falling, shockingly, on Toshiro.

"What will you be doing, when Calamity strikes?"

Those words, the stare, and something underneath it all... Toshiro felt it pressing against his soul. Something was stirring, something dangerous was in the wind. He could feel it.

He could just feel it.

Without even knowing it, Toshiro was lost deep in thought while the students around him filed out for the day, intent on reaching the safety of home. Toshiro didn't even notice when the eyes of a concerned person lingered near to him, worry plastered therein, only to move on with the crowd. He clutched a hand to his heart when the beating began.

Thump.

'God...! It's happening again!'

Thump.

Jolting upright suddenly, Toshiro frantically pushed his way through the students, trying desperately to reach the bathroom. Too insignificant to be noticed by his classmates, too small to be bothered by teachers, his hands finally grasped the handles of the stenciled wooden door, opened it, closed it, and gasped in a painful intake of air.

Thump.

He clutched at his heart. It was racing, pulsing, throbbing. It was far worse than he'd ever experienced before. Pain, a sharp lasting pain, shot through his body multiple times like jolting shocks of lightning.

It hurt, god did it hurt.

His cries never even left his mouth, because he couldn't find the strength to breath. The fear of death, tightening like a noose. But he didn't give in. Slowly but surely his breath returned, and the pain subsided. Even though he realized that the danger had passed, he couldn't stop shaking. His emotions were threatening to overflow, but he reigned them in, knowing that nobody would pity his tears.

Because there was no one he could turn to

...

Toshrio didn't spend too long sitting there in that room, or else somebody would have found him, or asked questions, especially with his carpool hanging around waiting to pick him up and bring him home. His thoughts and emotions were chaotic at best, swirling up inside him and confusing him, having suffered through the foreboding signs he felt at the presentation, and the extremely worrying attacks to his body.

"Twice in one day... and far worse than usual." He muttered to himself, taking out his journal to record the thoughts. He sat upright at his locker, the other students filing out of the main school entrance to end there day with a bit of fun. Toshiro knew that carpool would come looking for him within half an hour, so he used that time to despair, continually muttering his thoughts to himself.

"Am I going to die?"

…

"What are you doing sitting there, kid?"

Toshiro looked up to see a high-schooler leaning over him, a confused frown on his face, and two friends at his side. Gagging, Toshiro tried to deliver an excuse, but was unable to before the friendlies interrupted.

"Hey, you're that kid in the third years that I've been hearing about."

Toshiro's heart began racing.

"Yeah, that weirdo coward from the freshman class who can't do anything right. Hey, are those rumors right or not man? Cmon, if they aren't at least try to defend yourself."

"I... I'm not..." He knew what was coming. It happened so many times before.

The apparent leader grabbed him forcefully by the shoulder. "Guess the rumors are true huh, well, frankly it's embarrassing going to the same school as a kid like you. People are going to say that I came from the same school as the dumbest coward known to man." The leader shoved him against the locker painfully, staring murder into his eyes.

"You'd best leave the school or change your stride kid, or you won't live long in the real world. It disgusts me seeing kids like you."

He dropped Toshiro on the ground, and walked off steaming with his friends, who looked as if they might've regretting speaking out against the boy. Toshiro picked himself up once they'd gone, a choking sensation bubbling up in his throat, but again he suppressed it.

They were right, after all. He was a worthless nobody, who couldn't do anything for himself, much less others.

There was silence, and loneliness for him now.

Because he had no one to turn to.

He was alone.

...

...

And yet...

A noise.

"Toshiro!"

His name? Toshiro glanced upward to see the girl from his class, Erena as he recalled walking up to him with a strange curving smile on her face. She extended a hand to him, and in the briefest of moments, Toshiro felt something new and entirely foreign to him surface in his heart, when she spoke out to him, her smile never fading.

Those words would forever stay with him, marking the first time in his miserable existence when he truly loved life, because he had finally felt the one emotion he'd missed. The one thing he could never achieve on his own. He could swear he finally saw it, the light of happiness shining from her, and he felt it himself. A distinct, beautiful warmth that encompassed him, and transformed him.

...

...

"Would you like to be friends with me, Toshiro?"

Even in the dark alleyways of the pariah, the grey melancholy of life, even wallowing in the color of loneliness... Toshiro learned, that day, that light still found a way. A way, to make him smile.

* * *

So ends the prologue to this story. As any respectable fanfic writer would say, constructive criticism is always appreciated and encouraged. Be sure to tell me what you think of the direction of the story. Peace out.


	2. Chapter 1: Calling Out

**DISCLAIMER: Digimon is owned by Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation, WIZ, and Bandai. Please support the official release(s).**

* * *

 **Digimon Keeper Chapter 1: Calling Out**

On the morning of days unimportant, Toshiro would awaken to the hatred of an unwanted machine that annoyingly kept itself present to him for minutes at a time, at exactly the time he hated to hear it. But not today, because today he had outpaced his clock. Awakening to the sun this day, Toshiro could feel something new inside him. Maybe it was gradual… perhaps it was all a lie, but for the time being he enjoyed the thought that he might become human like everyone else. He climbed out of his bed, making his usual morning routine as he recalled the life-changing events of that fateful day, just last year. That was the year he made his first, and only friend.

But that one friendship meant more to him than the entire world. In a way, it brought meaning to the world, beyond the simple give-and-take justice that adults seemed to love. Being one of simple nature, Toshiro loved to be loved, because nobody ever thought much of him, or else outright disliked him. Toshio got dressed in his black school uniform, well buttoned twice at the midriff, collared and respectable. To match were the uniform pants, a plain black dress apparel that nevertheless matched the Japanese code quite smashingly. Finally he tied his plain tennis shoes, with a primarily black material only broken by the secondary and tertiary compliments of red and grey at the sides and soles respectively. Briefly he looked himself over in the mirror. His neatly shaven and stylized black hair matched the uniform splendidly, although it was the passing opinion of his surrogate father that the pineapple hairstyle he was vying for really didn't fit in.

He open the door quietly, expecting the bustle of his foster home, but was met with silence for the most part. Still, it didn't surprise him at all to find his foster father standing there in the main second floor hallway, his frame ever so slightly illuminated by the single light cascading from the room behind him, while the main lights remained untouched. The man spoke softly, minding the volume for the sake of his family. "Toshiro, what are you doing up so early?"

Toshiro stuttered, twitching nervously.

"I… I was just… I..." Kenzen Tengi waved his hand absently, yawning all the while, then scratched his poorly trimmed beard that had only recently started showing promising results fashion wise. "I'm not upset or anything, I'm just curious. Well, your reasons are your own I guess. Want to help me set breakfast?"

Toshiro cast his gaze downward again, his old habits surfacing. Ken sighed at the gesture, and turned to walk down the stairs. "Well, if you change your mind, I could really use the help.." Toshiro clenched his fists and fought the urge to growl at himself. Even though today was special to him, even though he'd come so far in a single year… some things never changed. He was still an unsociable nobody.

He made his way downstairs, faintly catching the rousing sounds of awakened family members, as they too hastened to don their daily attire. Once he had seated himself on the dining room chair, his eyes nervously dancing to and fro between uninteresting objects in his vicinity, he considered the progress he'd fought for in recent memory, and the oddity of his own status in school. At one point he'd been ignored, but as he began to interact with Erena on a more constant basis, he'd noticed a series of divergences from the expected results in his social life. It confused him, in equal parts delightful and upsetting, to find that not only had he gained the attention of more than a few classmates, mostly in the male sect of his class, but also the sympathy of several adult parties. As a result, he'd been taken aside and fawned over more than once. What exactly was the cause of this alteration? It didn't make sense to call it the consequence of a single, albeit important friendship. When exactly had the adults gotten involved?

Ken, who was preparing a rice dish, was soon joined by his wife, who affectionately kissed him on the check and embraced him in a side-hug which he eagerly returned. One by one, the two sister siblings descended the staircase, bringing them all together in familial conversation as families ought. Still, Toshiro sat silently at the table, nervously counting on his fingers the things he would do today. Today was special after all. Neither the sound of frying foods filling the air, nor following soon after the aromas of cooked meat and vegetable platters, could grab his attention in the same way that those exciting thoughts did. And his pseudo siblings were noticing. Eve and Yui sat on either side of Toshiro and began teasing, quite verbally, about the possible things he could be thinking about.

"Hey, sis, isn't Shiro-kun acting awfully strange today?"

"Yeah, no kidding. He was up before us, and now he's behaving weirder than usual." Toshiro blushed and winced at the same time. He'd never tell them, but being called weird by his family was a little hurtful to him… because to him, they were his greatest reminder of what familial affection should be. Being insulted by strangers and acquaintances was commonplace, but weren't family supposed to support each other and be uplifting? Eve poked him a little in the shoulder.

"Hey, Toshiro, are you planning on doing something fun today? You were using your fingers just now… were you counting your blessings? Cmon, tell us!"

"Well _**I**_ think he finally found himself a crush."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Don't you remember? Yesterday he was swinging lazily with a girl from his class. What's her name Shiro?" If Toshiro's face wasn't red before, it was now, and threatening to snd him into a fever. He stuttered, clearly embarrassed. "Er...Erena."

The elder sister squealed in delighted girly fashion, the sort only achievable when sappy romance was under way, while Eve sported an awed expression. Yui smiled wide, and gave Toshiro a huge thumbs- up and complimentary smirk. "That's awesome Shiro! You're starting to fit right in with what normal teens do. We'll make a man out of you yet!"

Kenzen must have heard that tidbit, as he shouted from across the room. "Stop teasing poor Toshiro. Let him make small strides at a time, he'll come around when he needs to. Isn't that right Shiro?" Toshiro nodded furiously, making gestures with his hands for the girls to give him some breathing space. They did so with apologetic haste, but Yui couldn't stop giggling to herself, and Eve was simply confused by the noises and actions of her hyperactive sister. Toshiro too often found himself baffled by the change in his sister's antics, which had become noticeably dominant over the past year when she'd begun spending more time away from home. He could remember it all starting once she'd spent the evening with a friend of hers, whom he supposed must have some sort of close friendship with her, with the way it made her smile. Ever since, she'd been far more curious when it came to any sort of intimate relationship, although Toshiro really had no idea what a 'crush' was supposed to be.

Breakfast was tasty that day, tastier than usual… but lunch, he was looking forward to.

When lunchtime did come about for young Toshiro, he was sitting outside on a bench beside the school park, leaning back, staring at the sky. His bento was sitting beside him on the bench, unopened as of yet, because he was waiting for someone in particular. To waste the time away, he decided to take out a book he'd begun reading in his spare time, which covered some of the things he found confusing in class. It was titled, 'Romeo and Juliet'. A classic cover, it was claimed by some to be the pinnacle of romantic relationship novels. His reason for reading it was simple: what is romance? According to the things he could make out in class it was a friendship strictly owned by a girl and boy, and according to some pop songs it was like some crazy madness that drove people to suicide. But words could never truly convince him, not without the feelings he wanted to feel, that 'romance' was a truly desirable thing. For now, he had no inkling as to the true meaning of love, nor did he have any context for him to analyze.

"Hey Shiro, what are you reading?" Startled, Toshiro quickly put down the book, and looked up to see Erena standing there, a beaming smile on her face. Immediately his heart calmed, replaced by a warm sensation he could only describe as profound, and everything happiness was supposed to be. He smiled back weakly, an improvement to his usual attempts, and offered her a seat.

"Hi, sorry, I was… just, reading stuff."

Erena sat beside him, and began unpacking her lunch beside his. Their short meal went somewhat uneventfully for awhile, as the two were content to watch the other children at the playground. Some groups were playing tag, others were throwing a ball around or playing soccer. Loners were never unfound, and they mostly stuck to the benches or swings. Looking at those stragglers, Toshiro was always reminded of his own problems. In fact, up until a year ago, that was totally commonplace for him. However, ever since Erena had befriended him, his habits had changed. No longer did he sit alone and sullen at the benches, instead he would either hang out with his only friend, or he would take walks as she often did. To his surprise on his first attempt, while it didn't necessarily score him points in the social department, it was a great way to gather his thoughts. His notebook was always beside him, reminding him of the panic attacks he'd often suffered back then, only to disappear as the months dragged on without trace. It was a huge relief to him.

As the minutes dragged on and they began to finish their lunches, Erena finally caved to curiosity, and looked over at the book Toshiro had put down. Her eyes squinted as she tried to make out the words. "Romeo… and Juliet… what's that book about?"

Taking a bite out of his rice ball, Toshiro gave a quiet, confused noise with his mouth full. He noticed what she was referring to, and swallowed quickly to answer her. Albeit timidly. "Yeah, apparently it's a pretty big book for adults. Almost all the teachers know it."

Erena looked thoughtful at this. "Oh, what's it about?"

He blushed slightly, and turned his face to his collar. "Um… well… you see, it's a book about romance."

A small look of understanding crossed her face, marred slightly by the following look of confusion. "So… why are you reading it? Romance is something we learned about in grade school, we're in middle school now."

His blush depended, a clear embarrassment showing as he revealed his own insecurities. "Yeah, I know, but… I just… it sounds so wonderful and awesome… but I have no idea what it means to love somebody. Some people say I should feel loved by my family, but romance is something strict between friends… it doesn't add up. Worst thing is, I don't know what to compare it to. My family looks like really close friends, so, do they share romantic feelings with each other? Have you ever felt love?"

Erena smiled, and laughed quietly at Toshiro's expense, causing his embarrassment to deepen even further. Noticing his discomfort, Erena reeled herself in, and quieted her chuckling. "I'm sorry Shiro, it's just, it's not as simple as that."

Her smile turned into a frown, a pitiful one at that, as she thought about what she knew of his disabilities and past. "Now that I think about it, you really don't have much experience with love… wow, sorry."

He nodded once, his head downcast. "Don't be."

Her eyes looked him over, as she chose her words carefully, even using gestures to try and punctuate her sentences. "Let me help you out. See, romance and love aren't necessarily the same thing. Or… well, let me put it this way. Love comes in two temperatures, that's how my mother described it. The mellow, softer of the two temperatures is a general love, the sort of love you can have for anything, so long as you care enough about it. In this case, a person you consider a friend might be someone you love. Families 'love' each other, because they care. Then there's the warmer temperature, the kind that Romeo and Juliet is probably talking about. This is the romantic love, that is… usually between boy and girl. I don't really know any way to describe it other than, well, warm."

Toshiro looked at her curiously. "So have you ever felt… romantic love?"

He didn't see it, but Erena turned her head slightly to hide the blush on her cheeks. "Yeah. It's sort of incredible, but it's not something you can feel naturally. It takes something very special, so you might not even feel it until you are much older."

Toshiro looked downcast at this, but nodded his head in understanding all the same. "I guess not… it just sounds great, but the class lessons never really made sense to me. I always wondered… if… it would be something I could feel. From what you've told me, I guess I sorta care about my adoptive family… and…."

He let his sentence trail off, then sighed. He discovered his lunch was finished, so he began to put it all away in his backpack, followed soon after by Erena. The two of them were silent for a while, as Erena worked over his response slowly, trying to find something to say that could help him out. The number one issue Toshiro had, in her opinion, was his inability to understand the feelings of other people. If he'd never felt it himself, and internalized it profoundly, then it would appear entirely foreign to him, and the worst part was how feverishly he worked to close that gap to no effect. It didn't help that he was incredibly timid, cowardly even. Asking an adult for help was to him what asking a girl to prom might be for a normal kid, in terms of difficulty at least. As they stood up, Erena suddenly got an idea, and asked if Toshiro would go on a walk quickly with her. He nodded his consent, and the two of them made their quiet way around the school field.

For a while, neither said a thing, until Erena spoke up softly for only Toshiro to hear. "So…" She began uncertainly, grabbing his attention away from the grass at his feet, "What things do you like a lot, Shiro?" The confusion on his face was painfully sincere.

"Like?"

"Yeah, I know a bit about you, but nothing about your hobbies or interests." Hearing those words caused a woeful frown to appear on Toshiro's face. His response was low, and self deprecating.

"…to be honest… I don't think I have any hobbies." Erena audibly sighed.

"Then how about likes? What things interest you about this cold, mortal world?" The slight humorous tone in her voice helped a bit in settling Toshiro's nerves, as he thought reflectively on the things he considered interesting. However, that eventually wore off as his conclusions started to make him feel uncertain of how to answer.

"Um… well I, I don't know if I really like anything very profoundly, I…."

"Oh for the love of god Shiro, are you trying to tell me that you've spent the last 14 years, including the one we shared as friends, being absolutely miserable? Cmon, everyone gets out of bed for a reason Shiro, what's yours?" The severity of her question somewhat scared Toshiro, as he shrunk further into his collar.

"I just want to be normal."

The sincerity of that statement was enough to shock Erena, who stood there wordless for a few seconds. "So… your only reason for living… is to be normal?"

Toshiro nodded. It was simple, honest, but so completely wrong it made Erena sick. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and turned his eyes to meet hers.

"Toshiro… being normal is a waste of time. Being normal means being somebody that isn't you. I'm serious, the word 'normal' is a load of bull."

"I'm… sorry… Erena. I just want people to like me. Because,,, maybe because, I like people."

Erena's face deflated, turning her previous displeasure into curiosity that had merits on its own, as far her hopes for her friend. "You like people? What about those bullies that are constantly trying to make you miserable?"

Toshiro blushed. "You… knew about that?"

"Of course, Shiro. I was hoping you would bring it up in conversation, but to actually tolerate it… I never dreamed it was possible." For a while, both were silent as the noses in the background faded and then grew louder, signifying that their conversation had taken them around the soccer field, and would soon end with the bell at this rate. When it finally did ring, and all of the students began rushing towards the school doors, Toshiro and Erena looked at each other before doing so themselves. At the entrance, Erena gave Toshiro one last comment.

"Shiro… you're a great person. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, you're very kind, and I admire that. See ya later!"

A warmth… that Toshiro didn't know existed… that he didn't think possible… was making its way to his heart, and it lingered so profoundly that he all but forgot the rest of his day at school, even when Erena passed him some worried looks from time to time. A compliment… from a friend! His giddiness began to bubble almost uncontrollably, and when the final period bell rang, he found that containing it was actually impossible. He bolted form his desk, much too fast for the usual bullies to catch him off guard, out into the school grounds where he began jumping frantically with joyous abandon. He realized he must seem silly, but he didn't care. At long last his efforts were paying off! He stopped abruptly, a fierce and unfamiliar look coming to his face: the face of courage. Despite everything, he had done the impossible, which meant… which meant, that his dreams would finally be realized. A personal dream, one that supplied the fuel he needed to continue running in this depressing world, the dream of true family. Of becoming someone loved. The smile on his face was truly an amazing sight to see.

"YES!"

He fell onto his back, content to do nothing but stare at the clouds. There was a peaceful breeze, gently carrying the growing chatter around him as students he knew would soon exit the building after him, but he didn't bother getting up. On his back, breathing deeply, he was happy.

…

Until, he heard something faint. A whisper, nothing more, but perhaps much more than it seemed. His eyes grew in confusion as he looked this way and that, suddenly shocked by the realization that there were no people, not one child or adult to be seen. They had all disappeared, the winds had stopped all together, and light seemed to drain from his surroundings. He began to panic, before the voice returned, no longer inaudible, but still very much a whisper.

' _Toshiro'_

He stood up swiftly, looking to see where the voice could be coming from, to ill effect. He clutched his heart, edging closer and closer to the school doors, as if they could lend him some tangible of safety from this intangible voice.

' _At last, my voice has reached you'_

"Who are you?" Toshiro cried out pitifully. "What do you want?" Suddenly, from behind him, Toshiro felt a warm hand grasping his shoulder, as the winds turned soft around him. He turned, ever so slowly, dreading what he might be see but equally curious. But there was no one. The sensations had disappeared, and he was left staring at a troubled Erena.

"Shiro… are you doing okay?" Sweating slightly from the encounter, Toshiro breathed heavily for a few seconds, before answering her question. "Do… don't worry. I'm… fine." Unconvinced but late for her carpool, Erena gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder, before leaving him to his troubled thoughts for the day. Even when he was drowned in strangers there, alone without Erena at the school entrance, Toshiro barely noticed them. Rather, he was too distracted to care. His head was spinning, a slight headache formed as he considered his own sanity versus the unlikely event that whatever vision he'd had was real. Yet… for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling. Not even when his pseudo family came to collect him from his daze, it never left him.

The feeling that his life was soon to become far too complicated.

"Toshiro? Toshiro? Hey, you in there bro?" The boy was snapped out of his daze by the worried cries of his adoptive sister, who drove steadily but timidly on the road as she alternated her gaze between it and her troubled brother. His stomach groaned a little though he didn't pay it any attention, which gave the other sister, sitting in the seat next to him, a conveniently false interpretation.

"He's just hungry, that's all. Still you were pretty dazed when we saw you standing there Shiro. Maybe you should have a glass of water when we get home." Toshiro stuttered a simple apology, before leaning back in his chair, finally strapped in, as their mini-van drove down the curving roads of suburban Kyoto. The town was modest in this particular area, though going downtown made things quite a bit more claustrophobic. Here, it was simple and lovely. Out of the car window, Toshiro watched families walking together, couples walking abreast, and the occasional loner or two traveling between houses. Much to the ire of his keepers, the immediate area was quite mountainous. This resulted in swerving climbs and sudden drops, around which this part of the town was erected. He personally didn't mind. Nothing in the town was unpleasant to his eyes, and seeing all of it pass by through the glass made him wonder… what would his life have been like, had his childhood been elsewhere? Erena's talk earlier had made him think. He liked people, but more than that, he liked anything he could get his hands on and come to fully understand. Perhaps he should blame his autism, for making mountains of stones, but he saw it as a blessing. Rather, it was the other things in his personality he hated, that kept him from connecting to those whom he might call friend, and kept courage from his heart. Cowardice… shyness… and now, maybe insanity should be listed among those things.

As his head rested on the back of his seat, his breath barely kept from fogging the glass, he was worried. Here he was, finally making progress, and now he was hearing voices. It was almost as confusing as the moments in years past, when his body would be wracked with pain from a mysterious hemorrhage with unknown origins. All he wanted… was to be normal.

And yet, his only friend thought otherwise.

…

He had some thinking to do, for sure.

Without noticing it, the car steadily began to slow, and Toshiro realized that their destination had already been reached, if perhaps a bit too soon. His siblings began unbuckling, encouraging him to do the same, but he was quite slow with the procedure. The sisters were far ahead of him, already inside the house in fact, before he even closed the port side door. With troubled heart, he trudged across the grass, and entered the household. Much like the others, he entered the household by first depositing his shoes to the side of the rice paper doors, and set about wasting the afternoon hours with solitude. Though the family came together sociably enough at meals and meetings, the afternoons were usually spent alone, most often for their own enjoyment.

Not today, it would seem. After Toshiro had finished unpacking his supplies, laying them orderly upon the desk in his room, he'd barely begun changing into a casual attire when Yui knocked on his door. Hastily he finished dressing, before opening the door to greet her uncharacteristically vacant smile.

"Hey Shiro, mind if I come in?"

Curious but ever shy, Toshiro took a moment before nodding and opening up for her to enter. Immediately their differences were made apparent by Yui's choice of casual attire versus his own; she wore a traditional style loose-fit black kimono with shortened sleeves, white trimming and a shortened hayori. Her look was rounded with smoothed brown hair and finished with red leggings. Being honest with himself, Toshrio found his own apparel choices considerably less traditional, with a simple black t-shirt, brown cargo pants, and nothing else notable to make it more appealing. Eve would more or less dress in a similar fashion to his own, at least in girl standards, but Yui had always been unique, with a vibrant and colorful taste for the beautiful. Her college days benefited her choices, as she spent many days of the week writing a trendy new comic series called 'Asukun', though he'd never bothered to read it. Her room was a veritable typhoon as a result of her work, so if she needed to talk to someone, she'd usually be the one to make contact.

Sighing openly, Yui sat herself onto Toshiro's chair while the boy took his bed for a seat, and for a while neither spoke. Eventually, the elder sister took the lead.

"So… how are you holding up, Toshiro?"

"Umm… what do you mean?"

"I mean about life in general. I know things are hard for you, its difficult for you to talk to people, so I thought it would be better if I did the talking. The truth is… I was happy to see you connecting to that girl the other day, I thought maybe you were finally coming out of your shell, except… you still won't talk to us. Can you tell me why?"

Toshiro didn't know how to explain it to her. He really didn't. His mouth was agape for some time, before making a shaky response. "Sorry, it's not that I don't want to…"

"No, it's fine, I just worry for you sometimes. In any case, I wanted you and Eve to help me practice some martial arts, if only to help us get along a little more. Families need to spend time together, that's how we grow to care for each other." With those words, Yui stood up quickly to exit the room, her hair flowing behind her in a neat billowing fashion. Confounded and intrigued by her words, Toshiro rushed to follow after. The two of them walked quickly in the sunlit hallway, down the stairs, and out the back door. Standing idly in the sun betwixt the concrete walls of the neighboring households was a traditional-style dojo, mostly unused in its longevity, but recently repurposed by Yui for some ridiculous and altogether sudden interest in harmful sport. She placed her hands on the heavy wooden door, and slid it to the side with some grunting. Sunlight filtered through the opening, revealing Eve, standing some ways in at the center of the wooden floors, a Bokken in hand. She too wore a traditional Japanese Haori, and was in the middle of a few practice swings against a straw dummy.

Yui smiled broadly at seeing her sister practicing. "So, taking an interest in Kendo?"

Masking her surprise, Eve wiped her brow of the accumulated sweat, and placed her Bokken tip first into the floor. "Pheww, didn't think you would be practicing today, and… Toshiro?"

The boy raised his hand in greeting. "Uh… hi Eve."

The girl returned a beaming smile, dropping her Bokken altogether to rush over and hastily pull him forward. "It's about time you showed up! What a wonderful surprise Shiro. Want to see my katas? I've only just started learning, but it's so much fun!"

Yui watched with humorous interest as Eve sat Toshiro down at a safe distance on a slightly elevated portion of the dojo floor, and moved to pick her Bokken up once again. Before she could continue though, Yui brought a crucial fact to her sister's attention. "Hey, shouldn't you be wearing your practice armor, whatever it's called?"

"Nah, it'll be fine sis, really! Just watch Shiro."

With eager abandon, Eve let loose with various sloppy forms on the poor straw dummy, which produced many straw fletchings as the beatdown continued. For two minutes she continued her forms, repeating certain favorites that were certainly useful, but in her hands might be easily countered. Toshiro watched all of this in fascination. Each strike, though perhaps underwhelming to a professional, seemed absolutely fraught with power and energy. And she was barely moving! He looked at his own hands, wondering what it would be like to wield that kind of strength. The thought lasted a fleeting moment, before his mind began dissecting every movement. A slip of the hand there, a misstep here, and throughout the entire demonstration he could sense something lacking in the energy of her attacks. A lack of… conviction.

These observations vanished just as quickly as they surfaced, when Toshiro saw Eve strike a wooden portion of the dummy a bit too hard, causing the Bokken to bounce swiftly back into her forehead. Without even thinking, Toshiro rushed from his seated position, arriving moments before the elder sister had even recovered from her shock, and braced Eve so she wouldn't fall over. Dazed, and pained, Eve's eyes winced as she fought back a curse, her hands slapped against her forehead in an effort to dull the pain. Eventually, she gave in.

"…Damnit! God that hurts!"

"I warned you to use your equipment!" Yui scolded her younger sister as she rushed over to take a look at the bruise on her forehead. She moved Eve's hand with her own, ignoring the cries of the injured, before providing her diagnostic.

"Well, it's nothing serious, but I'm sure it smarts. Let that be a lesson; never overestimate yourself. It's the first lesson Taki taught me." Hissing a little, Eve relaxed her hands and posture, opting to let the pain subside. Her Bokken, which had fallen to the floor, lay forgotten as she turned to thank her brother.

"Thanks Shiro. Guess I should train with the sets, it's just a pain to put those things on! They're not jus uncomfortable, they weight like, a thousand pounds!" Toshiro backed off, staring at his hands in bewilderment as Yui and Eve continued to bicker about the proper measures necessary for safe practice. Whatever thoughts he might have concocted over the bizarre circumstance were pushed aside as the elder sibling snapped, getting his attention.

"Regardless, it's my turn to practice. I invited Toshiro because I thought it might be a way for us to bond properly. What do you think, Shiro?" Both sisters were pleasantly surprised to hear him respond.

"Well… I think it would be fun. What should I do?" The smiles that met his face, so full of life and intrigue, were exactly what Toshiro had wanted to experience with his family. Whoever they were, wherever they were… he imagined that if he never found out, this would be the memory he cherished in their place.

And what a memory it was. Full of bruises, laughs, and apologies, but altogether enjoyable. Toshiro was so engrossed with their wonderful attitudes, that he lost track of time, and it was a disappointment to learn that the merriment had to end in order for dinner to commence. And how it flew… with Toshiro happily engaged in conversation with his two sisters, not caring about the awe-struck expressions of Kenzen and Ame Tengi.

Before he knew it, the day had ended, the sun had sunk, and he was opening a fresh page in his journal. Except… he didn't write anything down. For the first time in his life, Toshiro put the pen down, letting his anxieties go. There was sill a lot of things to do, parts of himself to overcome, but if he wanted to be a person that could make friends, he needed to do them openly. Today was a huge step, but he wasn't going to make any more progress by confiding in a book about the past.

Toshiro did his homework as best he could, took a warm shower, dressed in a new set of cargo pants and t-shirt, and crawled into bed. The covers felt warmer tonight, as he smiled, and drifted off to sleep. The sounds of the night droned off in the distance of slumber, eventually, to nothing.

If only he had kept his eyes open that night, perhaps waited an hour before drifting… maybe then the things that happened next might not have been so difficult for him to grasp.

…

…

…

…a rush, a sound that pushed and pulled at his body, woke him sourly from his rest.

His eyes opened slightly, retching in the glow of vibrant, neon colors dancing hazardously all around him. When at last his sight cleared, the peace of sleep was instantly replaced with a lucid horror.

He was floating.

Panic consumed him. "Wh… what?! What's going on?" His breathing became hoarse, and his heart beat outpaced his thoughts as he frantically looked around him. There was nothing. Nothing but colors, spiraling this way and that with no perceivable orientation. He flailed his arms in a vain attempt to find balance, not realizing the lack of gravity. His actions caused him an uncomfortable amount of vertigo, but thankfully they died down as his momentum ceased, and he found himself staring straight at a figure that looked as if it was torn straight from a comic strip.

It was a regally dressed person, at least six feet tall at a glance, that floated several meters away from himself. His red robes were dyed crimson in some areas, while white patches and intricate oriental symbols dotted each sleeve and section of fabric. It much resembled a priest with how its cowl arced over its head, but a metal mask prevented Toshiro from seeing the face behind it.

At his side, as if resting on firm ground, was a scepter of magnificent splendor. From its golden shaft to the ring sitting atop its head, with many other rings within it, that rattled as if to proclaim the gravity of this figure. Toshiro could only stare as the being spoke, the voice from earlier that day haunting its echoes.

"I have been waiting for you many days… Toshiro, Tengi."

…

To be Continued


	3. Chapter 2: When a Heart Beats

**DISCLAIMER: Digimon is owned by Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation, WIZ, and Bandai. Please support the official release(s).**

* * *

 **Digimon Keeper Chapter 2: When a Heart Beats**

Toshiro floated weightless in that strange, myriad of colors and shapeless forms, staring at the regal but strangely ominous figure which stood not a meter away, and three heads taller. His seemingly religious apparel fluttered as if buffeted by a wind, which might have been the case if not for the absence of anything natural in this place, and that strangeness was reflected in the heavy, commanding voice it used.

"You are not what I imagined, Toshiro Tengi."

Toshiro stared with fearful eyes at the imposing stranger, the echoes in their voices serving to further upset his wildly beating heart.

"Wh…what do you mean? I… I don't understand what's happening."

The figure raised its hand, a chain emerging from within the sleeve, glowing in a vibrant red hue. "I understand your confusion, but for the time being, you must learn to trust me. The world you are about to see is not one easily viewed, and its dangers may prove your undoing, if you cannot steel yourself. Do so now, if you can, for that is our destination."

Before Toshiro could voice the dreadful questions and complaints he had over this arrangement, the chain erupted into a shockwave that turned the already confusing space into a swirling tunnel of cascading color and motion. Nausea set in hard, as he felt his body getting pulled toward some far off gravitation, down and down into its seizure. His cries of terror echoed around him, as he spun through passing pallets of red, white, orange, and finally, a blistering glare.

His body struck something soft but solid, causing tremors throughout his body, that sent him gagging from the unexpected force. With no sense of direction, slowly, he opened his eyes, afraid of what he might see.

A feverish, blinding brightness made him regret that decision. Groaning in pain, Toshiro forced his body to roll over, allowing him to open his eyes safely at what appeared to be… grass? Except it was like no grass he could recognize.

It was a verdant green, but tipped with some oceanic dye and pointed in soft puncturing tips, with blades that seemed too stiff and short compared to what he remembered. He placed a hand atop it, feeling its softness, and pressed down to discover an utter lack of moisture. In fact, the dirt beneath it seemed almost… warm. And the sun, pressing against his back, seemed to embody the magic of that warmth. He noticed there were no bugs flying about, no insects that normally permeated any ecosystem, leaving him to wonder… what was the rest of it like?

His breathing suspended, and his awe mounting, Toshiro turned his gaze upward, and beheld a sight more beautiful than anything he could imagine. The rays of sun, piercing through a sky that seemed laden with cloud and strange electronic marking, cast a hazy glare upon fields of blue-tipped grass and healthy trees basking in natural purity. A slight wind had arisen, blowing the leaves and meadows slightly east, and his own hair spread thin across his eyes did little to mitigate the majesty he felt radiating from it all.

His eyes alight with wonder, Toshiro felt a true peace and happiness simply staring out at the masterpiece, and his smile soon broke out.

"Wow!" And with that one word Toshiro was on his feet, looking over hill and yore, trying to drink it all in. He breathed a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "It's… beautiful!"

"I agree."

Suddenly startled, the smile disappeared as Toshiro turned to behold the same stranger standing nearby, his staff firmly planted in the grass. Stuttering a little, Toshiro begged the expected questions.

"Where am I? Who are you?"

"Getting down to business then. Good. I can tell you have a lot of questions about this entire affair, and you deserve a few answers. My name is Laozimon, and this, is the Digital World."

Awed at the response, Toshiro looked back over the meadows. "Digital… World…"

The figure drew a little closer, letting Toshiro see how much bigger he was compared to the young boy. "Yes, the view is incredible is it not? But… I'm afraid this is will all be gone soon."

Surprised and upset, Toshiro turned his pitying eyes to the now named Laozimon. "What? Why is that?"

Wordlessly, Laozimon raised a hand, and pointed his gloved finger into the distance, where Toshiro could spot a wide mountain range, with trees dotting its side and birds flocking nearby. Strangely shaped birds at that. But what drew his attention, was a sudden rumbling that shook the very ground he stood on. Anxiety swiftly returned, as he watched fearfully in expectation. Unfortunately, he was not disappointed.

Over one crevice in the hillside came a thundering monster, orange in color, with horns on either side of its armored head and a dangerous tail swinging behind it. The creature greatly resembles a prehistoric dinosaur, and it frightened Toshiro greatly, so much so that he had fallen over backwards.

"D…d… dinosaurs?"

"Not dinosaur, a Digimon."

Toshiro's fright was slowly drained as he observed that the creature had absolutely no interest in him, but rather on a group of oddly shaped creatures far smaller than it. They were mere dots on the hill, which lay about 100 meters off, but he could make out odd protrusions and motions that excluded them from any category of animal he knew. He wanted to shout for somebody to save the poor critters, but he quickly realized that nobody was around that he could trust. This was a strange, untamed land. Anything could happen. Growing pity caused him to watch the Digimon chase his prey, and he let out a weighty sigh as the group escaped into an even narrower crevice in the mountain, out of reach.

His heart was still beating fast, but knowing that the critters would live truly eased his mind. Despite this, he still yelped as the dinosaur turned about, and let out a defeated roar, before turning back to the mountainside whence it came. Toshiro placed a hand on his heart, certain that at any moment the beast could turn and spot him… but thankfully, it did not. It took a minute from when he'd last seen the creature disappear before he felt he was truly safe, and began gasping with breath he didn't even realize was bated. A hand came into his peripheral vision, offered by Laozimon, which he took after a moments hesitation.

"What you have just witnessed is the cause of my present fear. The creatures of this world, Digimon, are sometimes wildly aggressive and untamed, but this one has been terrorizing the inhabitants of this valley for several weeks now, and nobody has the strength to stop him. Those small Digimon you saw being chased? Those are the last remaining children inhabitants of this mountain range."

Toshiro looked in pity to the point of retreat the critters had taken, as if hoping to see some movement. "So… this dinosaur… he ate them all?"

"In a way, I suppose. Digimon don't 'eat' other Digimon in the same way that animals eat animals in your world. Here, everything is digital. To 'eat' a Digimon is to absorb its data, often to grow stronger, and once that kind of power is tasted it's near impossible to slate the thirst of a wild Digimon."

Toshiro rose in anger at the explanation. "Then why haven't you done anything about this! You're strong right?"

Laozimon chuckled a little at the human's show of emotion. "Good, that's the reaction I was hoping for. If I were to answer you honestly, however, I am rather weak when it comes to fighting. The beast would likely devour me like he did the poor ex-inhabitants, except that my robust data would probably make him unstoppable. You see? Fighting him would only make him more powerful."

Toshiro deflated at this response, growing rather depressed. "But… then…"

The gloved hand found his shoulder. Toshiro may well have found comfort in the eyes of the stranger, who seemed decently kind, if not for the metal mask had hid them. "Don't let it bother you too much. Come, I want you to see something."

Curiosity ruled his body, as he allowed himself to be beckoned toward a nearby rock formation, sitting less than 50 meters from whence the dinosaur Digimon had appeared. The walk to get there was slow, agonizing even, as Toshiro's brain finally caught up with the events transpiring around him.

An alternate, digital world? Insane!

Monstrous dinosaurs? Insane!

But most of all, it was his role in this adventure that confused him. Why was he brought here? Did Laozimon expect some performance on his part in defeating that crazy monster? Or worst of all… was this some sort of hallucination? Some… fantastic dream, that he'd imagined in order to deal with his anxieties of late? He swallowed hard.

His shoes clapped against rocks here and there, slid through dry strands of grass, and snapped over stray branches and upturned soil as the tree grew near. The air was still, silent even, but warm nevertheless.

Before long, the pair had reached the formation of rocks, which appeared to be comprised of some bright limestone as far as comparisons go. The formation was circular, similar in design to the Stonehenge from the human world, except that flora kept a good portion of it from view. And at the very center of this formation, as if planted by a god, stood a singular pillar, illuminated by majestic light rays that filtered through the overhead canopy. The room was about 50 feet in radius, but even from its edge, Toshiro could feel something… powerful, emanating from that pillar. And familiar too, in a horrifying way.

A stray hand found its way to his stomach, and his breathing became a little ragged. A distant thought crossed his mind… one that brought back painful memories. His eyes widened as that thought became more prominent, but he desperately supressed it, hoping against hope that it was nothing more than a passing whim of the imagination.

Then, Laozimon acted. The great figure struck his staff into the ground, causing a slight tremor, that shook the formation several times before ceasing. Toshiro watched in wonder, his thought momentarily discarded, as the pillar emitted a bright light, one that might even have blinded him had he not shielded them with his hands. He heard several mechanism click and whirl, as the pillar rose several meters into the air, revealing a concealed pocket at the center of the pillar by the time it finished rising, and with a final click became motionless.

"Come forward, Toshiro. Here lies a great weapon, and I should wonder if it suits you."

The gesturing hands pointed Toshiro toward the opened pillar, and something… drew him towards it. Even though his mind screamed at him, telling him to run away, still his foot lifted, and planted itself timidly forward.

Another footstep, and the feeling grew stronger, except it wasn't drawing him in any more… it was pushing against him, harder than he could describe. A pain, sharp and foreboding tore through his body, a shudder and a shock that made him pale with fear. His mind won outright, and he flailed backwards, clutching at the heated heart in his chest. His panting was heavy, and his eyes betrayed everything to the present Digimon.

"NO! No no no… no please… not again… not again…" Tears welled up in his eyes, as his chest throbbed time and time again, sending shock after shock over the boy, until at last, it ceased. Panting, he planted his hands on the ground in front of him, barely supporting him.

"Why…" He sobbed.

"Why now… this… this place, it has to be a dream!"

Pity crossed the eyes of Laozimon, as he watched the poor human struggle with his pains. For a while he stood wordlessly and motionlessly, and then, when the boy seemed at last to compose his posture enough to stand. "…You are not at all what I expected, Toshiro Tengi. Not one bit."

Still biting back his frustrations, Toshiro watched with watered eyes, as Laozimon exited the structure, the pillar untouched. Anxiety and fear mixed harmfully in his heart, as he stumbled after him.

"Wait, let me out of this place! End the dream… gi… give me back my life!" The two of them exited the formation, albeit at drastically different paces, as Laozimon kept casting words at the weak boy.

"How quickly your tongue loosens, when it tastes fear."

"Please, I don't want to be a part of this dream any more, make it stop!"

"You are not in a dream, Toshiro. This is reality, one that you fail to grasp."

"No… this can't be real. Send me back!"

The Digimon turned about and faced him dead on, causing Toshiro to stop in his tracks, the fear still plastered there. Even though the mask hid his face, one could easily imagine the disappointed expression through Laozimon's voice.

"The world you knew is behind you Toshiro, as are the people you call family. In a day's time I shall return you, until then, do your best to find yourself."

Toshiro jabbered in anxious indignation. "But… what am I to do? I… I…"

"Answer me this one question, Toshiro Tengi. Do you ever wonder how and why it is, that a slave overthrows his master?"

Startled by the question, Toshiro stuttered for a moment, unable to answer. Laozimon placed a gloved finger over Toshiro's chest, as he provided the answer himself.

"Because he can see those things he considers precious beyond the fence of his imprisonment, and only the destruction of his master can unite them."

"Why… why are you telling me this?"

"I tell you because you allow a pitiful fear to control you, because you cannot hold onto the faint wisps of courage I know reside within you. If you ever desire to break free of your shackles, you must learn to call upon that power… or else you will forever remain a prisoner to your own cowardice."

With those haunting words, Laozimon descended the forested hill, leaving Toshiro in a dazed stupor. Beyond the lining forest, he watched as the Digimon crossed the field, before sitting crosslegged beneath a few trees in the meadows. There he sat, unmoving, as Toshiro turned to go about wandered the forest.

…

He didn't really understand why he kept walking, only that his feet wouldn't stop. Leaves were crushed beneath his shoes as his aimless stride carried him through the underbrush, deeper into the mountains, but not so far as that he couldn't find his way back to the meadows if need be. Tears that had long since dried still left their ghostly marks upon his face, as his eyes and mind drifted elsewhere.

He stumbled once, maybe twice, not really caring where his steps landed. All he could do was wait… wait for someone to tell him what to do, to bring him out of this nightmare.

But then… he finally did stop.

Tilting his head, Toshiro could hear something rustling in the trees, some forty paces off, and a growing thunderous noise. He drew closer, taking deliberate steps slowly but surely, until crack by crack on the splintered jungle floor he found himself within a caped opening, and parted some shrubbery that seemed to form a natural wall. The colors of this ridiculous dream never ceased to astound him, but by far this new sight had him baffled beyond compare. There fell water by the gallons, in a beautiful waterfall setting describable only as divine. It fell from quite a ways up, but the pool at its base was surprisingly calm, and riddled with stones of large size and bubbling shape. Standing atop one of them, tipping its frame on one leg, sat a very curious Digimon. It was tiny for one, and somewhat reminded Toshiro of an imp from memories of studied mythology, with black skin, a tail and pointed ears.

"Huh who's there?" The creature suddenly shouted as he flipped about to the sound of a broken branch. Toshiro, ever shy, clung to the edge of the fern, hoping to escape its notice.

"Hey. Cmon, I can see you easily you know." Surprised at the tone and embarrassed of his own failure, Toshiro stepped around the brush, and sat down at the waters edge, his bum rested on a neat stone facing inward.

"I'm sorry… I was just wandering, and well…"

"Wandering? Huh? Are you lost or something? Wait a minute…" Leaping down to stand right in front of Toshiro, nearly his height thanks to his age, the creature peered curiously at the boy before his eyes lit up in recognition.

"Wow, you're a human, aren't you? Talk about incredible!"

"Wh… what do you mean?" His stammering was put on hold as the Digimon extended a three-clawed hand for shaking.

"The name's Impmon, and what do they call you?" Taking the claw timidly, Toshiro made slow reply to hasty shaking of the tiny imp.

"My name is… Toshiro."

"Huh. Not much of a chatty guy are ya? Can't complain though, I've always wanted to meet a human. So what are you doing here? Cmon cmon, you can tell me."

Blushing slightly, Toshiro did his best to explain his situation to the miniature creature, phrasing his words such that he wouldn't betray his disbelief. "Well I… I don't know why exactly I'm here, but… I guess I like looking at this world, it's pretty cool."

"Isn't it? But you know, looks aren't everything. I hear there are some pretty mean Digimon raising a ruckus pretty much wherever you go, even around here, which is why I'm holding up in this special pool of mine. No evil Digimon are getting in here!" His smirk was so wide it might have split his face.

"So you like it here then? Will you be staying long?" Almost immediately Toshiro's face fell, and noticing it, so did Impmon's. His posture drooped, and he sighed.

"I guess the human world is still better than here. I've always wanted to see what it was like… do you have cool buildings? Large mountains? What about your lifestyles? Do you fight each other often, or…"

Toshiro laughed a little at his exuberance. This caused him some great amount of indignation, as Toshiro was quick to learn.

"Hey, don't laugh at me! I'm being genuine here."

"I'm sorry Impmon, you just talk so fast and so much.. it kinda reminds me of my sister a little. Well… I mean, kinda."

"You said 'kinda' twice. Are you doing okay?"

"Sorry..."

"You also said 'sorry' twice! Well whatever, if you aren't going to be here forever, we should make the most of this opportunity!"

Toshiro raised his eyes as Impmon stood up tall on his rock, stretching his clawed arms slightly ahead of him. His breath spiked a little as his right arm firmly grabbed his own, and tugged on it ever so slightly.

"Cmon, let's go have some fun Toshiro!" Slowly, and sluggishly, as if being dragged from sleep, he let himself stumble over the rocks in order to follow the Digimon on his merry way. He stepped over stones, brushed aside bushes, but through all of it he couldn't help wondering to himself… if this was a dream, he wouldn't mind it lasting a little longer.

Before long Impmon had led him to the top of the mountain, safely guiding him along non-existent paths just to see something spectacular. Toshiro was content just to listen to his comical jumping, his breathing, as he energetically led him forward.

"Hey, Impmon..."

The creature turned to look at him, without stopping or losing his stride even once. "Yeah? What's wrong?"

Toshiro looked down at his feet, clearly embarrassed by something, but refusing to outright say it. "Nothing."

Impmon could only narrow is eyes at his odd behavior, but still he kept going, not trying to pry and take Toshiro out of his comfort zone. "Look up there, that's the drop off."

Toshiro could see ahead of them a neat river flowing swiftly from a nearby lake, a small one albeit, that sat unassuming at the mountainous peak surrounded by rocks and small trees. In less than a moment, he was yanked toward the cliff face. This scared the boy, as he didn't really want to imagine such a hearty fall, but something inside him clicked… when he stared out over the valley.

If there was one word in his large vocabulary to neatly summarize this spectacle, he couldn't remember it. All he could do, was gasp in a pleasant smile, despite the dangers of being a few feet from death.

It was a sunny, hazy evening that spread out before him, with the sun on one horizon and clouds lingering close above, while the winds of the valley fluttered and flowed all around. He could feel the heat of the glare contesting with the bite of the altitude, but what truly struck him was the sights below. He could see everything, every outcropping every twist in the labyrinthian structure of the mountain range. Far into the distance there was the sea, the single largest body of water Toshiro had ever seen, and closer to home and behind him was the meadows, where a single person he knew was sitting, and waiting.

Impmon was intently watching his expressions, and was pleased with what he saw. He jumped even closer to the ledge. "Hehe, betcha your world doesn't have a view like this! Now watch this watch this, this is the best part."

The small imp raised his finger, pointing downward toward a group of bounding Digimon down and to their left. From this height it was difficult to make them out exactly, but he could vaguely make out a resemblance the beasts shared with ogres or goblins from popular monster art and cosplay… perhaps some strange mixture of the two.

"See those guys down there? There's nothing better than having a bit of harmless fun at someone else's expense." Having said as much, a flame appeared on his outstretched finger, while the imp spoke a few choice words aloud, though not so loud as to attract the attention of the Digimon below.

"Night of Fire!"

To Toshiro's amazement, the black flame lit up and launched itself down towards the unsuspecting victims. It burned the rump of one goblin, enraging the beast so much that it turned about and began attacking the first goblin it could blame. Their indecipherable curses and shouts reached the ears of one awe struck boy, and his trickster companion, who was rolling on the ground with no control over the laughter that escaped him.

"HAHAHA, they never wise up! Cmon cmon, you gotta admit that was funny! Betcha you can't do things like this in the human world."

"Wow… did you just use magic?" The laughter ceased immediately as Impmon gave the human a curious glance.

"Huh, magic? What's that?"

"Well… it's something that happens that you can't explain."

"Well then it's not magic. That was my special attack, Night of Fire. I guess you must be pretty new to the digital world after all… didn't you know that almost all Digimon have some kind of cool attack?"

Toshiro could only take a step back in amazement, and no small does of incredulity. "I had no idea… but if this is all just a dream, then it would make sense..."

Impmon gave another hearted laugh, this time at the boy's expense. "A dream? That's a good one Shiro. Nothing about this world makes sense to any of us, and that's a fact. Still..."

He breathed deeply as he stared out of the canyons, drawing his companion to do the same. "I'd rather believe in dreams, if it means getting to the human world."

Toshiro was dumfounded by his words. His head and heart were at odds, but the wisdom of such a small, fun-minded creature somehow burrowed deep and echoed in his head. "Hey..."

Impmon looked up at Toshiro. "Thanks for listening, and spending time with me. It gets lonely out here you know… there's nobody to laugh with."

Impmon sat down on the edge of the cliff, and settled into a relaxed position. Toshiro watched him do it, watched the contentment upon his face, and suddenly he was seized by a reluctant guilt. Was it worthwhile… he wondered… to call this place a dream, when he'd placed so much hope in dreams since the beginning?

Frowning, Toshiro laid himself down on the rock, if a bit further away from the edge than Impmon, and stared out with him into a waning sunset, with daintily lightly rays spreading in every direction, and the wind picking up slightly.

…

...

The two of them shared a spell of tranquility for a while, until Toshiro let out his heart to the small digimon.

They were both quiet, as they conversed.

"Impmon… I'm sorry for not being honest with you earlier."

"Huh… what do you mean?"

"In the human world, I was always trying to be something more than I was… trying to be normal."

"Normal? Why?

"Because I thought that I could feel things that have been foreign to me for so long. What is love? What is compassion? What does it mean to have courage? I know I'm just a nobody. I know I'm weak, and cowardly. All I wanted was to be like everyone else, to have friends. Its so… painful watching that chance fall away. And that's why… that's why earlier today, before I met you, I was convinced in the hope that this place was a dream."

"Oh… so then… what changed?"

"You did. You made me feel happiness. That's something only my sisters and Erena have managed."

"Then I'm happy. Nobody should ever go through life without happiness."

"...Thank you Impmon."

"No problem."

"Hey… Impmon?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it okay to call you… my friend?"

"Heh… like you even need to ask that."

"Thank you.. thank you..."

His eyelids sagged, followed by a yawn. Despite how high they were, the cold wasn't too well set, and so distant in fact that the drowsiness he felt overcame him, and he began to drift.

Who knows how long he slept there, supposing that time flew at a similar pace to the human world. It didn't matter to him.

For the time being, he was content to enjoy this dream, and secretly, he hoped it would never end. If there was one thing he adored above normality, it would be…

Happiness.

…

And so the two of them slept on through the night, hours spent in alien company, and neither were bothered. In fact, Impmon couldn't recall a recent memory more fond to him, and Toshiro had only the more recent interactions with his siblings to compare. Even though neither said a word, even though the boy never gave it pause, somehow the two of them knew that a bond stronger than friendship had formed. It was a blissful peace.

…

...

When morning came, however, it saw that peace destroyed.

A QUAKE, a thunderous, murderous pounding sound, brought them shuddering into the morning sun, which went unnoticed while they frantically tried to understand what was happening.

Another QUAKE, brought them to their knees in panic, holding to the rocks as if they might give way. Toshiro noticed in his panic a flock of bird-like Digimon soaring away from the valley floor, which brought his attention to a shaking row of trees below and to the left of the cliff's edge. Quickly following his gaze was Impmon, who made a distressed groan.

"Oh no… it's Greymon."

Toshiro looked to his companion. "G… Greymon, is that a Digimon?"

There, plastered on the face of the happy-go-lucky Digimon, was a woefully misplaced emotion that he himself was quite familiar with; fear. It made his knees wobble and eyes quake, messing with the usual confidence he exuded. "Yeah… it's a dangerous Digimon that's been prowling the island for a year now. He's the one that forced me and most of the Digimon around here into hiding… damnit!"

His fist clenched and struck the cliff, tears barely kept at bay. "I hoped he would never find this place… what happened all of a sudden that made him come this way?"

The tiny Digimon dove down the cliff-side with surprising agility, leaving a frightened Toshiro to wonder at his speed. That is, until a crash brought his attention back to the valley below, and a huge creature lumbered into sight.

It was the same gigantic, orange monstrosity from yesterday. The dinosaur gave a resounding roar, as it placed one huge foot in front of the other, in pursuit of tiny Digimon at its feet. Again, it was the same Digimon group from yesterday, the ones who had barely escaped it before. Worry erupted on Toshiro's face, as he scrambled to follow after his newfound friend. His flight down the side of the mountain was far less agile, tripping and almost plummeting twice, but still he pressed on, despite the scrapes his knees were suffering. His breath was haggard, trying to keep pace with his heart.

Before he could reach level ground, a figure appear on a ledge above him, causing him to stop in his tracks. It was Laozimon.

Briefly Toshiro felt a small prick of anger in his heart, but the Digimon said nothing to aggravate him, so he pushed onwards, letting his vendetta slide. He shoved brush after brush in his flight, hoping against hope that Impmon was safe.

...

Laozimon stood there a while longer, silent and stoic as ever, his staff rested at his side. He sighed once before jumping high into the air, and flew towards the ensuing chaos.

...

Toshiro couldn't quite understand why he felt so compelled to action. Every sane part of him screamed at him, telling him to run away. But something... some singular part of him that didn't, was so powerful, so overwhelming… that his sanity simply couldn't match. What was it… this power that drove him? It felt oddly familiar, but he couldn't remember where.

Now he stood, panting, at the pool's edge, but the forest around had been striped bare, and the grotty had been disfigured beyond recognition. Impmon was still nowhere to be found, but Toshiro could imagine the sorrow he must have felt at the loss, because he felt it too.

When beauty is destroyed, he couldn't forgive the destroyer. There was sadness now in his heart, and he hated it. He walked across the scattered stones, looking for his friend, and thats when he saw something near to his feet, covered in loose stones.

The rumbling had come closer again, and Toshiro could faintly see the Digimon panicing in the corner of his eyes… but that didn't matter to him. There was Impmon, lying face-first into the ground at the edge of the pool, his body bleeding and broken. He had no way of knowing if he was dead, and he had no way of knowing how to fix him. All he felt…

...was rage.

A new emotion, a powerful one. It rose up in his throat, mingled with the sadness he felt, and opened his heart to unleash a wholesomely fearsome cry.

His yelling turned into a curse.

"Damnit!"

That's when he felt a dainty prick against his leg, and he looked down to see Impmon staring up at him. The smile on his face never belonged there, but it did the trick, calming his anger.

"Wait… Shiro… I'm fine."

Relief spread throughout Toshiro's body, as he collapsed next to his friend, and removed the boulders on his chest.

"Impmon, thank god you're alive..."

Chuckling, Impmon wheezed out his usual whit. "Hehe, betcha you don't have this in the human world either. Probably why I want to go there so goddamn much."

He sat upright, suddenly beset by a coughing fit, before looking out at his destroyed home. "You know… I grew up with stories in my head about the wonders of the human world, but I always knew it would be impossible to reach it. To die in the company of a human, and a friend, in my haven… I couldn't have asked for a better way to go. Still… I wish I could have seen that world of yours..."

Impmon fell unconscious as he said those words, his limp body feeling much heavier in Toshiro's arms than he remembered.

"I'll make sure you see it, Impmon. Even if it kills me."

The ground had rumbled on far too long. He gently placed Impmon to the side of the pool, before standing, and walking towards the great beast of orange and black. It had pinned the smaller Digimon against a cleft in the valley, where they huddled in fear, as the Greymon tried in vain to grab them with his arms. Failing that, it reared onto its hind legs, and touch a deep, growling breath. Flame appeared around its mouth, but before it could fire it, something struck its head. A pebble. It barely tickled the beast, but it served its purpose.

The giant carnivore was now facing down a small boy, all alone, with only a stick in his hand.

Toshiro was shaking in his shoes. He hadn't the slightest idea how he would fight the beast, but he felt that if he backed down now, everything in his life up until this moment would have been pointless. So, with sweat falling from his brow and his body shaking uncontrollably, Toshiro raised his stick, mimicking his sister's kendo positioning, and yelled out with all of his heart.

"I'm going to stop you, no matter what!"

Then he blacked out. The monstrous tail had swiftly smote him against the canyon wall, and the slowly gaited monster towered over his broken body.

Its teeth grew nearer, as Toshiro regained temporary consciousness. His body wouldn't move, his weakness was overwhelming. All he could do was watch as the teeth descended towards him, nearer, and nearer.

But he didn't want it to end this way.

For the first time in his life, Toshiro let go of his own interests, and thought solely on his mission. What would become of Impmon, and his dream, if he failed here? They would all die. He wanted power. He NEEDED it.

...

And that's when he felt it, clenched in his hands as if by miracle, the weapon from the pedestal. When had it gotten there? The shape was rectangular as far as he could tell, with some straps to either side and a glass screen at its face. This had made him cower not 18 hours ago. But still his fingers clenched tightly around it despite having lost their strength long ago, and Toshiro embraced the energy it emitted. That dangerous, foreign power that made his body ache with pain… it was still power. And it was preferable.

…

…

Then there was an explosion.

Light ERUPTED all around him, wind BLASTED in every direction, and Toshiro found himself struggling to remain rooted to the ground. But POWER flowed into him, filling his every cell, pushing each muscle past the point of breaking, and pain LIT each inch of his body.

He screamed in agony, clutching his own body at its sides, as fire consumed him and broke him down only to build him back up. His senses were going haywire. Light fluctuations contorted his sense of reality, and nausea filled his head at the overwhelming myriad of new sensations that bombarded him unawares. The pain ebbed into a dull ache, and the winds began to die.

...

He blinked as the sounds around him came back into focus, and his eyes began to work properly again.

Only when he opened them, nothing was familiar. Color shone brightly through every pore of every part of the land, everything was enhanced twice over, and he could hardly bare it at first. He shielded his eyes, before letting them down again, and adjusting.

That's when he realized… he didn't have any hands. He had paws. Two sets of them. He was a… a… a dog?

He didn't have much time to adapt to his predicament, instead instincts seemed to take control of his body has he leapt nimbly to the side, narrowly avoiding a swipe of the larger Digimon's tail. Toshiro bounded up the canyon wall and rested atop it, where he was allowed a moment to look over his new body.

He had fur.

He had a fluffy tail.

He was red and orange.

He had claws, sharp teeth, a snout.

He had four legs.

His eyesight, smell, and physical capabilities had all been bolstered to preposterous heights… but the greatest surprise of all… the thing that would worry him the most in hindsight… was how readily he accepted it.

Approaching heavy footsteps and the sound of clanging metal brought his attention backwards, where he saw Laozimon approach. The large Digimon was slightly higher than before, meaning that his form had come at a small cost, but his attention was stolen as the figure spoke out for the first time that morning.

"Congratulations Toshiro Tengi, this is your first taste of freedom. How does it feel… being your own master, and knowing the essence of what makes a human?"

Toshiro's gaze turned to the ruptures in the canyon, too transfixed in the moment to care about his words or grudges, but he felt emotions now that he'd never known existed, which struck a chord in the speeches Laozimon delivered.

If there was indeed something to be found in courage, then he'd found it, and in a word the summation of his ordeal was: Power.

And it would have made him happy, if it weren't for the situation. Another explosion of rock brought Toshiro bounding down the canyon side, eager to test this new power, and reveling in the strength of character it seemed to gift him. The ENERGY he had was astounding, and it intoxicated him like a drug, to the point where he could shout with confidence in the defense of the weak.

Oh and that was another thing. Apparently he could still speak despite having the body of an animal.

"Greymon!"

The clumsy giant turned about from his quarry at the sound of Toshiro's voice, which seemed inlaid with a new echoing pitch, and immediately it salivated in anticipation of devouring the far more data-rich creature before him. Toshiro would not be backing down today. Instead he stared up at the beast with fire in his eyes.

"I'm your opponent."

There was no need for further preamble as the two charged each other, intent on ending the existence of the enemy. But Toshiro quickly altered his course in comedic abandon once he realized the difference in size and power that still existed between them.

"This is insane!" He frantically ran about the canyon on all fours, trying to think of a way to outsmart the Greymon, while barely dodging blasts of fire from its mouth.

"Ouch! Hot!" And so the two of them chased each other around for a few minutes, until Toshiro finally got an idea. Above them was a cascade of rocks waiting to happen, and in the back of his mind was a special… something, an ability of this form he assumed, surfacing like a well-trained memory.

"This must be my 'cool attack' like Impmon was talking about." Yelping he barely managed to dodge another tail swipe that hit the canyon wall, causing it to rumble and loosing a few rocks on the beasts spinal appendage.

The beast roared from the pain, and began chasing the boy in renewed rage. But the boy had a plan, and he was ready to set it in motion. He stopped dead just as the Greymon came under a cleft of stone, and waited for the next fireball. When it finally came, Toshiro dodged to the side, but still the wall didn't cave from the impact of the attack. He frowned, but didn't move. Finally, fed up with the chase, Greymon charged Toshiro, who was trapped in a corner crevice. The beast struck him dead-on with his armored skull, its horns piercing straight through into the stone.

All was silent for a moment.

The shocked expression on Toshiro's face faded.. as did the rest of his body.

The rocks above crumbled and caved, tumbling down onto the hapless Digimon, who was crushed under the pile of rubble. Thud after thud, and finally it was over.

Toshiro panted heavily a safe distance away, faint trials of smoke coming from his orange and red fur. He imagined himself reeking, but Toshiro was satisfied with the results, and so he heaved sided with a mighty exhausted sigh, and fell to the ground.

He breathed in, breathed out, felt his furry chest rising and falling in tandem… it felt a if all the energy in his body had been sapped just by using that one ability, and by the unusual physical exertion he admittedly didn't expect to have.

Small pitter patter steps approached him somewhere in the direction of his head. He opened one eye, then the other, as the tiny bald heads of pink Digimon came into view, their huge eyes staring down at him in admiration. He raised one hand, grunting slightly at the effort, to pat one on the head.

That's when he saw Laozimon approaching the rubble, walking slowly but intently toward the crushed Digimon, and curiosity made Toshiro sit up straight as best he could, his strength slowly returning to him. He stopped, his feet squarely planted, and turned his head to beckon Toshiro forward. Sighing with unspoken complaint, Toshiro heaved himself off the ground as hard as he could, and struggled to maintain his four-legged balance while he straightened his gait. Then, step by step, he trudged forward.

A full minute is what it took him to reach Laozimon, but the effects of battle were noticeably decaying as his muscles regenerated in a fashion he could feel, still, Laozimon was eager to continue.

"You have done exceptionally well, Toshiro Tengi, if perhaps a little worse for where from the effort. Now the great weapon is yours to hold and command, and is bound to you. See there on your left wrist."

Toshiro's turned his vulpine head down to his forward left leg, which might be his wrist were he a human, and widened his eyes at the sight of the device clinging there tightly to his skin. He shook his leg quickly, secretly hoping it might come off, but it held fast.

He sighed, and asked the desperate question lingering on his soul. "I wonder… sir… if it were possible for me to change back."

"You needn't worry, the Digivice has the ability to store and release this state at your command. Simply focus your will on the task, and the Digivice will respond accordingly."

Hope filled Toshiro's eyes as he focused what he imagined his 'will' to be on the idea of transforming back into his human body. His muscles tensed and strained with visible effort, until finally, a data stream appeared, wrapping itself Toshiro continuously until he felt a dull pain cover his body. Slowly his appearance shifted into humanoid form, and the light disappeared… revealing Toshiro in all his humanity.

Toshiro felt himself over frantically with his hands, sighing contently with the repaired image, before noticing a lingering spell of fatigue that didn't exist before.

Laozimon could see the confusion clearly.

"It should be noted that your Digimon form's benefits exist only as a Digimon. Human bodies are quite weak, by comparison."

"What… what do you mean Digimon? Do I… do I become a Digimon when I'm like that?"

An amused chuckle escaped the wise Digimon's lips. "Of course, did you really just figure that out?"

A tinge of pride tweaked Toshiro's shy composure.

"Regardless, there's quite a host of things you must know about the destiny of he who holds the great weapon. Calamity approaches, and..."

"Wait, Impmon!"

Toshiro ignored the irate Digimon in favor of running toward the motionless body of his fallen friend. He placed his hand atop the small, frail body, trying to feel for a pulse, but found none.

Tears welled up inside him.

It wasn't fair!

He'd tried so hard to save him… had finally found his courage, but the things he wanted to save… the one thing in this world he wanted to be re-united with… he was gone.

He cried.

…

Toshiro's cries only ebbed when he heard Laozimon approach.

"It is tragic, but why did you care so much about this single Digimon? You couldn't have known him more that a handful of hours..."

The first thing Toshiro felt in response to that statement… was anger.

"Shut up… he was my friend."

If Laozimon was surprised at the response, he didn't show it. Instead, silence was heard for a while, until Toshiro begged in a defeated, hoarse voice.

"Please… is there any way to save him? Is there anything in this world to save my friends?"

"There is."

Toshiro jumped, and turned to face Laozimon with red eyes dripping moisture and a shocked expression sitting there.

"There is? Tell me!"

"It's there on your wrist."

Still wearing his shocked expression, Toshiro's eyes fell upon the device that still clung tightly to his wrist, bearing a striking resemblance to a watch now that he looked closely. He placed a timid hand on the interface, hoping for a reaction.

Then his eyes turned back to Laozimon in expectation. "Pay attention to what I have to say now, Toshiro."

His staff struck the ground, and from him emerged a violent wind that soon died after a moment, but all had become silent except for his authoritative voice.

"The Digivice of this era has a name unlike any of its predecessors, and that name is part of the destiny befitting the destined child of its time.

In an age long before this one, and in every age that followed after, the Digidestined were chosen by this world to become its savior, aiding it in times of great peril. During each and every conflict, a device such as the one you wear now would find its way to their chosen hosts, in order to grant them the power needed to combat the darkest entities of the digital world. Such a time has arisen Toshiro, and now, you have been chosen."

Toshiro's confused question interrupted his speech. "Hold on, I don't want to be part of this destiny, I just want to..."

"Do you wish to save that creature in your arms?"

Toshiro immediately shut himself up.

"The role of Digidestined is not so easily discarded, Toshiro. The device chose you, because in your heart exists a love for the good, and it is that same love that will allow you to protect your friend."

"H… how?"

"The Digikeeper has a very special function, one that has not seen use since the formation of the Digidestined, but has come to light now because of the catastrophe this world faces. See there on the left side of the console, there lies a button that can store your friend's data, preserving and restoring it as the Calamity weakens."

Toshiro quickly moved to touch the button, but was restrained by the arms of Laozimon, who stared down at him with intent, but not a malicious one.

"However… you will not be able to see him again… until the crisis has been averted. Do you understand me? If you choose to save him, you must do so with a promise. A promise to accept and fulfill your destiny."

Toshiro could have wept then and there, if it weren't for the tears already spent upon his face.

"It's not fair."

…

"It just isn't fair. I finally had what I wanted. I had friends, friends that I could understand, and could understand me. But now… but now… now I have to either give one up… or give myself up for them in order to save someone else's world."

"I can see you feel strongly about this, Toshiro. I'm sorry."

Toshiro looked up at him again, a painful look stapled there.

"Toshiro, I understand you completely, but the disasters that befall this world are never contained to this world. You may not believe it now, but if you refuse to help, and the digital world falls, the human world will be next to go. Think Toshiro! I came to your world and brought you here with minimal effort, but the Calamity that approaches will bring about legions of darkness that will tear you, your world, and your families apart. If you have no heart for those of us who live here, surely you must have a place in your heart for humanity."

Toshiro choked once, clenching his fists.

He hated this so much, and yet…

His fists softened.

He reached for the button, and hesitating for a moment… pressed it gently. A flash of light came suddenly from the screen, and the body of Impmon was swiftly converted into a stream of data that entered the device. A rumbling nearby alerted the two companions to the deceased Greymon, which also began to dissolve into data. It all flowed through the air in curving rivers, straight into the waiting digital screen that seemed to absorb it all hungrily.

It flashed once more when the rivers met their end, and the last of the data disappeared.

And still, Toshiro was crying. "Impmon… I promise, I won't rest until you see the human world for yourself."

Woefully he turned to face Laozimon, a resigned, but determined look on his face. "Laozimon… if I cannot avoid this fate… then at least help me along the way. I don't know what to do."

Laozimon smiled down at him with his eyes. "If you could see yourself now, Toshiro, you would see someone entirely different from who you were when you entered this place. All doubt has left you."

His eyes glinted.

"Excellent!"

.

.

* * *

I will always appreciate constructive criticism. For example, do you think I moved to quickly with Impmon's friendship? Was there some distaste in Toshiro's psychological development? Be sure to comment and tell me so.


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